Japanese
Last updated 2021.6.1
Many organisms on earth use light not only as an energy source but also as an information carrier, and have evolved various photoreceptor molecules. The light-oxygen-voltage (LOV) domain is one of the photoreceptor domains found in various organisms (e.g., bacteria, fungi, algae, and plants). We made an N-terminally-truncated aureochrome-1 protein (Photozipper, PZ), containing a bZIP domain and a LOV domain. PZ undergoes dimerization upon illumination, which subsequently increase its affinity for the target DNA sequence. Making full use of biophysical measurements, we attempted to clarify the molecular mechanisms of signal transduction from LOV core to activate the bZIP domain and other effector domains. 
(1) Phototransduction 
(2) madaka photoreceptors 
(3) Visual pigments